Jonathan Harry Samuel Arkush (born June 1954) is a British

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

and Jewish

community leader Community leader is a designation, often by secondary sources (particularly in the media), for a person widely perceived to represent a community. A simple way to understand community leadership is to see it as leadership in, for and by the communit ...

. Arkush served as the 47th President of the

Board of Deputies of British Jews The Board of Deputies of British Jews, commonly referred to as the Board of Deputies, is the largest and second oldest Jewish communal organisation in the United Kingdom, after only the Initiation Society which was founded in 1745. Established ...

from 17 May 2015 to 13 May 2018.

Board of Deputies

Arkush was elected president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews on 17 May 2015, succeeding Vivian Wineman. That year, he denounced the far-right Holocaust-denialist group, the

London Forum The O Forum Kentish Town is a concert venue in Kentish Town, London, England owned by MAMA & Company, and originally built in 1934. History The venue was built in 1934 and was originally used as an art deco cinema. After the cinema was close ...

, as

white supremacist White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other Race (human classification), races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any Power (social and polit ...

. In January 2017, Arkush described United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 – a 2016 resolution condemning

Israeli settlement Israeli settlements, or Israeli colonies, are civilian communities inhabited by Israeli citizens, overwhelmingly of Jewish ethnicity, built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. The international community considers Israeli se ...

s in the

Palestinian territories The Palestinian territories are the two regions of the former British Mandate for Palestine that have been militarily occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967, namely: the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip. The I ...

– as a "disgrace" at a protest against the resolution in central London. He said that he had sent a message to the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cab ...

, on

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...

to express his anger at British support for the resolution. Later on that year, he advised Jewish students not to attend university at the

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

due to an allegedly hostile environment towards Jewish students. In 2018, Arkush was critical of alleged antisemitism within the Labour Party under the leadership of

Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the political left of the Labour Party, Corbyn describes himself as a socialist ...

. He said that Corbyn's views were hostile to Jewish people and would drive Jewish people away from Britain. He was also critical of the

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

Justin Welby Justin Portal Welby (born 6 January 1956) is a British bishop who is the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury. He has served in that role since 2013. Welby was previously the vicar of Southam, Warwickshire, and then Bishop of Durham, serving for jus ...

, for his alleged failure to stand up to anti-Jewish prejudice. In January 2018, Arkush announced he would not run for a second term as president of the Board. In an interview with

The Jewish Chronicle ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

, Arkush stressed that his reasons for leaving office were not professional, but that he felt he had gone a long way towards achieving his manifesto aims and that "the record of second terms for Board presidents, if you go back, is never as good as the first". He also stated his intention to make

aliyah Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the Israel, State of Israel ...

, something he described as an "increasingly urgent personal priority". He was succeeded by

Marie van der Zyl Marie Sarah van der Zyl (née Kaye; born November 1965) is the 48th president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews. When she was elected in May 2018, she was only the second female president in the 258-year history of the organisation. She ...

on 13 May 2018. Arkush was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in the

2023 New Year Honours The 2023 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebration ...

for services to faith and integration.

Post-Board of Deputies

After leaving the Board of Deputies, Arkush has spoken about the rise of antisemitic incidents in Britain and Europe in 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arkush, Jonathan 1954 births Living people Presidents of the Board of Deputies of British Jews Officers of the Order of the British Empire British barristers